Isa Pantami extends NIN-SIM linkage till June 30

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has disclosed that the ongoing National Identification Number (NIN) and Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) integration exercise has been extended till June 30, 2021.

The NIN-SIM linkage extension was contained in a statement both endorsed by the Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ikechukwu Adinde; and the Head, Corporate Communications, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Kayode Adegoke.

Pantami, who has been under attack recently over his past pro-Taliban revolutionary remarks, was also stated to have declared that 54 million Nigerians have gotten their NIN.

The statement was entitled, ‘NIN Enrolment Reaches 54 Million as FG Approves 30th of June as NIN-SIM Verification Deadline’.

It stated that the decision was taken at a virtual meeting attended by Pantami, and also the Chairman of NCC, Adeolu Akande; the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NCC, Umar Dambatta; and the Director-General/CEO of NIMC, Aliyu Azeez.

The statement read in part, “The postponement of the deadline was also based on the request by stakeholders for an extension till 30th of June in order to make it easier for all citizens and legal residents to register.

“Significant progress has been made in the NIN-SIM verification process. For example, almost 54 Million people have obtained their NIN and this can translate to up to 190 million mobile numbers, since empirical evidence suggests that each unique NIN maps to 3 to 4 phone lines.”